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Saw the individual 18-count Alpha Trooper magazines available at Target today, I suppose it's an exclusive for them. They're only $9.99, though! Seems like a great price considering dual magazine kits are usually $15.

"Hokey packaging and ancient gimmicks are no match for good detail on your figure, kid.""I am a Klingot from Oklahoma in human boy form.""We came, we saw, we conquered... We, woke up!"

Nice! Too bad my apartment reached its breaking point with toys and collectibles about a year ago. Having said that, I really liked that mini-drum and may just get a few and keep them in my trunk with my Stampedes.

Well, poking around Singapore Nerf's forum, I found them discussing a new N-Strike blaster! It's a bullpup SMG that takes streamline magazines using the Barricade's technology and also has a new type of magazine to make use of the glow in the dark darts (but can take any magazine). And there's also a pistol version of the Dart Tag Speed Swarm.

Last night, the grandson of the gathering's host brought out his Nerf gun (sorry; I'm not as well-versed in the arsenal to tell you the model) with a flashligth taped under the barrel. Maximizing his out-in-the-dark backyard time with his friends; smart!

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."

Risky, if the tape doesn't hold, you end up with a wobbly tactical light, gives away your position.

I saw a new Nerf blaster at Target the other day, it was a new single-shot that came with, I believe, a whistler dart. It was $6 on a cardback with the impulse buys, and it had a plumbing look to it, a pipe with an angled bend, in N-strike colors, and used a simple single plunger as the grip and trigger. I didn't end up picking it up because it seemed a little overpriced compared to other single-shot Nerf dart guns.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Oh, you mean the Jolt? It's a funky yet fun little gun. It's a bit smaller than the Secret Strike, and yet it shoots better than those Reflex pistols. When I first saw pictures of it I didn't think it was real since it was so far removed from the design aesthetics of the N-Strike stuff, and yet I was really interested in it for the very utilitarian design - which I very much enjoy. Since I had the Secret Strike and Reflex, though, I wasn't sure about getting it but a week ago I was at K-Mart and it was the first time I found it. With a $5 pricetag there, I wasn't going to grab it but it had been a disappointing trip until that find and my Mom found some stuff to buy, so I went ahead and, well, pulled the trigger.

It turned out to be pretty great! It has a hefty pull on its charging handle which seems to be due to some decent spring power to it; despite being smaller than the Secret Strike, it fires harder than the Reflex. It also sounds more impressive than the Reflex when firing. Overall, this would definitely be worth $3-4, but at $5-6 it's only really justifiable if you can compare it to the disappointment of the Reflex and Secret Strike - or really, really need a Derringer type of pistol. It's not the most comfortable to hold due to a lot of straight edges, but it's decent enough for quick usage and it's certainly more comfortable than the Secret Strike, which can be difficult to grip reliably; or the Reflex, which is uncomfortable with the two lower fingers dangling freely. It's also much easier to reliably aim given the full grip and the sights on top.

Also, as a birthday present I got the Target exclusive Magstrike AS-10, which turned out to be a far more enjoyable gun than I thought it would be. It's incredibly awkward to handle, but once you can get the thing pumped to full pressure (which is difficult to determine, it should have a gauge like past Super Soakers) it has an impressive sound and feedback to it as it cycles through its clip*. It's really kind of like a blowback feature, but without anything actually blowing back. It's just really cool to see the clip rise out of the top - although it's difficult to enjoy at its fullest potential since it's very difficult to do a single shot. It's best to be prepared to empty the clip in one go, which was okay with whistler darts but made awesome with suction darts (similar to the Barricade, really).

It's just such a strange design, though... It seems like it's designed to be complicated for looks, and yet when you really examine how it works then it actually seems like a minimal design. Kind of like function over form over function, in which it's designed to have the simplest casing around its feature, and yet its design is stylized and not too friendly for comfortable handling unless you stick with one hand. It's pretty much pointless to shoulder the paintball-inspired stock since it just makes it more strange to hold as you try to find a comfortable place for your second hand. Just a very awkward gun, yet it's so incredibly fun to fire a volley of 10 suction darts at once. The Barricade is fun with that as well, but the Magstrike's rate of fire is so quick that it's almost more of a shotgun effect. Although, I think if it weren't an exclusive gun then it'd be only $15, so it's overpriced and certainly not something you'd want to wield as a primary. It doesn't have spare clips available, it takes 15+/- pumps to get a full charge, and the lack of a reliable semi-fire just doesn't make it a worthwhile primary weapon - but I swear if you had this as a back-up that it would scare the daylights out of whoever receives its full volley. Just too bad you can't have it slung behind your back as it lacks sling mounts. Oh, and the rail is useless because it's something like 1-2mm too thin and anything mounted on it easily comes loose.

*- This is the only Nerf ammo holder I feel could actually be called a clip due to it being more the nature of an actual clip rather than a magazine. Even though it has to house the darts somewhat in order to keep them secure, they more clipped in rather than stored within, like a magazine. Actually, it kind of reminds me of the M1 Garand clip, especially given that it is practically ejected when emptied (it just doesn't fly out). Kind of ironic given that it's the Magstrike while the guns fed by magazines are referred to as clipshot.

Btw, both Target and TRU are having Buy-One-Get-One 50% Off sales that Nerf counts in, and TRU.com has the bonus pack Raider with spare drum magazine available again at $28.

"Hokey packaging and ancient gimmicks are no match for good detail on your figure, kid.""I am a Klingot from Oklahoma in human boy form.""We came, we saw, we conquered... We, woke up!"